Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Cook Brothers Mortgage ("selfmademortgage.com," "we," "us," or "our"), a website operated by Cornerstone First Mortgage, LLC (NMLS #173855), collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal and financial information when you visit our website, use our tools, or apply for a mortgage. As a mortgage lender, we are a financial institution subject to the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and its privacy and safeguards requirements.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

We may collect information you voluntarily provide, including:

• Contact information: name, email address, phone number, and mailing address when you submit a form, request a consultation, or contact us directly.
• Financial and income information: how you earn (business owner, 1099, freelance, or investment income), your self-employment history, credit range, documentation preference (such as bank statements, 1099s, a profit-and-loss statement, or assets), and other details you provide through our qualifier quiz, income calculator, or loan application. This nonpublic personal information is used to help assess whether a loan program may fit your situation.
• Property information: desired purchase price, occupancy, and property type when you use our tools or request program information.
• Communications: any messages, questions, or feedback you send to us by email, phone, text, or website forms.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information, including:

• Device and browser information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, and screen resolution.
• Usage data: pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, click patterns, and interactions with our tools (such as the income calculator and qualifier quiz).
• Approximate location: general geographic location derived from your IP address.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Help evaluate whether a self-employed or non-QM loan program (such as bank statement, 1099, P&L-only, or asset-based) may fit your situation.
• Respond to your inquiries and provide personalized mortgage guidance.
• Process loan applications and facilitate the mortgage process, including credit, income, and asset verification.
• Send communications about your inquiry, application status, or program updates, consistent with the consent you provide.
• Improve our website, tools, and services based on usage patterns.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and record-keeping requirements applicable to mortgage lending.

How We Share Information (GLBA)

We do not sell your personal information. Consistent with the GLBA, we may share nonpublic personal information as needed to process and service your loan and as permitted by law, including:

• With Cornerstone First Mortgage, LLC (NMLS #173855) and its loan officers for mortgage processing, underwriting, and servicing.
• With investors, underwriters, and service providers (such as credit bureaus, verification services, title and appraisal providers) as necessary to evaluate and complete your loan.
• With the third-party service providers listed below, solely for the purposes described.
• When required by law, regulation, subpoena, or legal process, or to protect our rights and comply with mortgage lending regulations.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use the following cookies and tracking technologies:

• Essential cookies: required for the website to function, including session management and security.
• Analytics cookies: we use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how visitors interact with our website. You can opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.
• Advertising cookies: we may use advertising and conversion-measurement tags (such as Google Ads and Meta Pixel) to measure the performance of our marketing.
• Functional cookies: used to remember your preferences and enhance your experience.

Global Privacy Control (GPC)

Some browsers and extensions let you send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal that communicates your privacy preference automatically. Where required by applicable state law, we treat a recognized GPC signal as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and/or targeted advertising for that browser or device.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our website and provide our services:

• Google Analytics (GA4): web analytics provided by Google LLC. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Bonzo: our customer relationship management (CRM) platform, used to manage inquiries and follow-up communications. Information you submit through our forms may be stored in Bonzo to facilitate follow-up and loan processing.
• Resend: email delivery service used to send transactional and informational emails. Your name and email address may be shared with Resend to deliver communications you have requested or consented to receive.
• Vercel: website hosting platform, which may collect standard server logs including IP addresses and request data.

Data Security (GLBA Safeguards)

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure, consistent with the GLBA Safeguards Rule. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted through our website.
• Access controls and secure storage of sensitive information.
• Regular review of our data collection, storage, and processing practices.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a portable copy of your personal information, to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and targeted advertising, and to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights. Certain information related to an active or completed mortgage transaction may be exempt from deletion under the GLBA and other record-keeping laws. To exercise a right, contact us using the details below; we will verify your request before responding.

California (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have the right to know, access, correct, and delete personal information, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising. We do not sell personal information. Note that personal information collected and processed in connection with a mortgage application may be exempt under the GLBA exception to the CCPA/CPRA.

Texas (TDPSA)

Texas residents have rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, including the right to confirm, access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal data.

Virginia (VCDPA)

Virginia residents have rights under the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, including access, correction, deletion, portability, and the right to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, and certain profiling.

Colorado (CPA)

Colorado residents have rights under the Colorado Privacy Act, including access, correction, deletion, portability, and the right to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal data. Colorado recognizes universal opt-out mechanisms such as Global Privacy Control.

Connecticut (CTDPA)

Connecticut residents have rights under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act, including access, correction, deletion, portability, and the right to opt out of targeted advertising and the sale of personal data.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, comply with legal obligations (including mortgage lending record-keeping and TCPA consent-retention requirements), resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Children's Privacy

Our website and services are not directed to individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us by email or phone: